Matthew Williams - Canada

**Matthew Williams** Mon Jan 24, 2011 3:46 pm

Name: Matthew Williams
Age: 25
Gender: Male ♂
Quarter: Northeastern to Northwestern
Job: Merchant?
God(s): Amaguq - a trickster and wolf god from Inuit mythology.
Gift: Can see that which is hidden while looking in mirrors, but only without his glasses. Does not seem to extend to unnaturally hidden things and beings. Extended use of this gift makes him dizzy (Everything else is quite blurry without his glasses after all). Living things (Such as people) appear in warmer colors. While inanimate objects appear as cool colored forms (Such as a knife.)

Personality:

Matthew appears to be a very mild mannered, soft spoken person. He is polite and kind to most people, and usually very empathetic. The Canadian is willing to lend a hand to most any who are in a bind and aid them in their plight (It can however make him seem like something of a pushover). He has been known to be a reliable mediator who tries to be impartial when conflict between two parties arises. He believes in keeping the peace, and tries to take the proper actions to achieve it by any means necessary.

Despite his soft spoken, usually easy going nature, there also exists a rather passive-aggressive attitude beneath it. He is known to be quite snarky when put in the mood or completely comfortable with the person that said attitude is directed towards. It can surprise people quite a bit when they don't expect it, and perhaps even hurt some feelings. But usually if it gets to that point, it's because he believed the person most probably deserved it after he has been pushed over a line.

Canada can even be quite fearsome when driven to be, not exactly strong or impressive, but incredibly stubborn and frighteningly unwilling to go down unless he no longer has a choice when he believes in something, when someone he cares for really needs help, or when trying to prove something to others or himself. Some speculate that this is born of his wishes to be recognized or noticed, rather than invisible and mistaken for his brother all the time...

Matthew also tends to get easily flustered, he really isn't used to being under the spotlight, and often doesn't know what to do with attention. He tends to blend in with the background, and often has mixed feelings concerning his invisibility. Some times he grows a little sad, but usually tries to keep an optimistic outlook on everything and not let his transparency get him down.

Appearance:
Canada stands at an average height with a medium to slim build. He has red/blond hair that falls around his chin. The most prominent feature to his hair is the strange, stubborn looping curl that insists on sticking out wherever it wants, usually in his face, much to his own displeasure. The nation has wide blueish violet eyes that sit behind a pair of thick wire rimmed glasses. Some would say he is slightly effeminate but it would be better to keep it to themself.

Strengths:

Loyal: Matthew is a loyal, reliable companion. He is unlikely to betray you or stray unless given a perfectly good reason to. So it's safe to say, he'd be a good person to have on your side once you win him over.

Quiet/Invisible: Matthew's quiet, barely noticeable nature is quite handy some times. It helps him slip under the radar more often than not. While it's not intentional in the least, it has gotten him out of some sticky situations where it would be undesirable for someone to be able to pick him out in a crowd.

Genuinely kind natured, and polite: Matthew is quite kind and friendly, his oddly giving optimistic nature causes him to think and try to be helpful towards most people. It makes him likable and will make him friends should he run into the right people.

Stubborn: Matthew shows signs of being very stubborn when he wants to be, especially towards people or situations that he feels strongly about. If he wants to do it, and believes in it, he wont give up easily and try his very best to learn or achieve a goal.

Observant: Matthew is good at paying attention to detail, used to just observing while he goes un-noticed and forgotten. It's more likely that someone will say something without thinking, or wont notice him watching and listening patiently as he waits for his time to speak, if it were to come.

Weaknesses:

Kind Natured: Usually Matt's kind nature is helpful and wins him allies, but it sometimes makes him seem like a bit of a push over since he is usually open to helping people whenever he can. While he does draw the line at points, it's some times too late and it gets him in a tight spot.

Quiet/Invisible: Thanks to being quiet and rather invisible, Matthew can sometimes be forgotten and overlooked. Which can put him into various bad situations, especially if the people he needs should forget him. This could also result in the wrong person noticing him, and opening another can of worms for the young man, be they meant to be friend or foe.

Secrets: Matthew tends to know too much, due to being privy to the gossip of high society and the whispers of those around the city can some times make him a valuable target. Again should the wrong people notice that he is indeed there and hearing every word they say, it could lead to a bad situation. Or should someone realize just how much the young man might be able to find out, he would make the perfect little spy... With the right leverage.

Delicate Health: Matthew's family is known for some very bad luck in the area of their health. It is said that his whole line is doomed to end in illness. He can fall ill quite easily when he comes across something new that's going around, and he honestly has come to expect it. But refuses to speak of it. Some times he has been known to deny being ill to the point he believes it, just for his own peace of mind.

Glasses: Matthew's glasses are very important to him, not only does he need them to see, but they also seem to limit his odd ability. Which is certainly helpful at the right moments. So he tries to keep them on him at all times, but of course things do get lost from time to time.

Likes:
♥Maple Syrup
♥Pancakes
♥Animals (Bears specifically)
♥Being noticed or remembered
♥Music
♥Stories/literature
♥Secrets
♥Gardening
♥Working in the Northwestern Quarter
♥Wandering

Dislikes:
♦People who mistreat other people (or animals)
♦Illness
♦Being forgotten or bumped into (When he's RIGHT THERE)
♦Losing people important to him
♦Being unable to voice his own thoughts and opinions
♦To be flustered, it happens when other people are involved
♦Seeing someone in need and not being able to help
♦Bad cooking >B|
♦To be called effeminate. (Edit: Or Awkward Man B|)

Quirks:
♣Says the word "Maple." At random.
♣Tends to gesture a little when he speaks. (Worse when upset or drunk)
♣Some times accidentally speaks his thoughts out loud, but it's usually alright since people don't notice him. But when they do, it gets to be very awkward...

Phobias:
♠While he never brings it up, he is really rather terrified of the idea that some day no one will ever see him at all
♠Then in turn, he has developed a case of Athazagoraphobia... Afraid that those who should remember him, forget him altogether...
♠Matthew is by no means a germaphobe, but he is rather afraid of being sick for too long and starting to slip into the frame of mind that he may end up like the rest of his family.

History:

Matthew Williams was born a nobleman's son, in a house full of warmth and laughter and servants. So why he would take up with the merchants or why he would be randomly seen in other various quarters of the city is up for some debate (If any who knew him long enough took notice of his presence in these random places). However if one were to dig deep enough they'd find it's simply out of loneliness and boredom that he began to expand his horizon.

The boy's mother was a beautiful woman, known for her voice and love of plants and nature. Many said Lord Williams was a lucky man, and he never disagreed with this thought. Matthew took after her a great deal in appearance, aside from the fact that he inherited his father's fair curled hair, where his Mother's was dark ebony and smooth.

They were a well liked and respected family for the most part, but Matthew had to be taught early on that children should be seen and not heard (Not that it was hard to achieve, he just had bad timing some days...) after an incident in which he saw a man with a woman who was not his wife hiding behind some tapestries in the mirror at a social gathering... How was a child to know he should keep his mouth shut, or that he shouldn't have seen it at all? After several more odd incidents, all as embarrassing to the family as the last, he learned that he should be quiet...

Sadly, Matthew's mother was of a weak immune system it seemed, and while sick often enough, she (And others of the family) proved to be unable to survive a particularly harsh illness that swept through the house one year. A great many died, and those who didn't were left a great deal weaker afterward. Matthew himself was lucky to have been one of the ones who contracted a mild case and survived. As did his father, and a couple uncles and aunts on his father's side. It was a specifically large blow to the child, and he never quite understood what had happened until a few years later when he was a bit older and much wiser to such things.

From there on he was brought up by his father, who became a great deal more preoccupied with other things than family (Perhaps the boy reminded him too much of his late wife, but he wouldn't admit that), and Matthew was raised by tutors and maids that were hired after that. It is sad to say but illness struck again through the next few years, and it began to be said that it was something of a curse on his family. Though he often comments that he is quite sure a particularly toxic minded aunt and uncle of his were poisoned, as he noted a few odd things the night of their death...

At 25 years of age, he now lives alone for the most part (His father finally passing the prior spring), aside from the servants who stayed on (Though he gives them little to do now aside from keeping the house presentable and from burning to the ground) and his pet dog. A large, white, shaggy creature named Kumajiro. The beast is probably his closest friend these days, but he leaves it at the house for the most part unless he is going to spend days in the lodgings he had set up in the Northwestern Quarter when he has extra work to do among the merchants.

For the young man lost a great deal of interest in sitting around in the dark cold house he had grown up in. It's lonely among servants who don't realize he doesn't care what their place is around him, and that they could say or do what ever they wanted short of harming someone. He still attends social gatherings as he is required (More out of respect for what his family was than what it is now) but for the most part he prefers to see the other quarters and learn what he can from the people around them. It feels a little less lonely to be around people, even if they don't always notice him there...

He took a specific interest in the trades of merchants, and the good that could be done for those in the poorest quarter, people who had talents with growing things or making things, but no confidence in it to do anything with them. Eventually, he set up a tidy little business to sell the goods and help those who supplied him while establishing a comfortable distraction from the other areas of his life.

Not to mention he soon discovered that a great deal more could be heard and learned among common folk (Who seemed to just as easily forget he was there). Nobles were famous for gossip and intrigue, of course, but it seemed every day ordinary people had just as much to say, and there was even more going on to be heard than he ever imagined... If anything it kept his mind busy, and gave him a nice chunk of food for thought should he ever need a little more information on something or someone.

RP Sample:

Matthew felt hungry, and therefor, the Northern nation knew it was probably a good time to make his way towards the kitchens to eat rather than continue to stand around considering weather or not he wanted something to eat.

He'd put in a rather full day so far, spending time hunting inconspicuously around the manor as usual. The blond perhaps spent an unnatural amount of time just walking around. But then, he was never the sort to just sit around mindlessly for hours staring at a TV. Though at nothing, or at a book were some times likely... But he was not of the mind for either that day. Since Alfred had convinced him to come to this strange place, he figured he would make the most of it and try to glean what ever he could from the manor's old, obviously story filled walls.

Sadly, the walls weren't talking.

And as always, Matthew seemed to have a hard time talking to anyone long enough to find out their thoughts on the place. But he knew he was also doing much better than he normally would have, having already communicated and spent 'visible' time with several nations that had arrived since he had. But it seemed his slightly more visible lifestyle did not extend to the manor staff as he had expected. They would show up at odd times, usually when he wanted something, do their job and leave. Which was rather troublesome when you had questions to ask. How else can one find out about the history of the place they worked when it was in what seemed to be the middle of no where, and the staff wouldn't tell you anything about the place?

With a little huff, Matthew blew that curling strand of hair out of his face. His most recent wanderings had been around the paranormal holding facility. He knew they weren't really advised to spend much time there, and when one did they were advised to be careful. But Matthew had yet to really see why... Because one the beings there now seemed pretty well secured to him and two, while some were quite frightful there were just as many that appeared to be innocent (some times cute) little things that he saw no threat in. And seeing them held in small confines, probably forgotten after months of being there, made the blond more than a little sad. It was just one more reason to question Pangea Manor. Of course, he had learned quite recently that one should not question another without getting proper back up first. Especially when in a serious position such as he felt it was now.

Stirring from his musings, the Canadian blinked and found he had arrived in the kitchens already. It was amazing what could happen to passing time when one got lost in their thoughts. The second thing that registered in his mind, was that there was a definite delicious scent wafting around the kitchen.

Out Of Character
Name: Cassie
Age: 23
Contact: You can probably get me on pm here, probably...
Anything else?: Hullo there, nice to meet you all! I hope to see everyone at some point IC 83, so feel free to poke me! I don't bite, but my muffins do.